Among the “insensitive comments” Bell made when his posts were read by about 12 people was saying he was “not racist” but “Asian people piss me off,” mentioning “big girls” and “closet whores.”

Come on. Back in 2006, Republican Senator George Allen Jr, was defeated by Democrat James Webb in a race that devolved into claims that Allen was a racist. A former student who had gone to school with Allen told the media that Allen in his teens was not above using the term “nigger.” Webb, who spent many of his formative years in Southern states, immediately rose to Allen’s defense, saying that in his generation “we all did that.” I know Jim: he’s a decent and ethical man (who never could quite be comfortable in either party). What Democrat would have the integrity to come to the aid of a political opponent today?

Sadly, Bell groveled an apology. He shouldn’t have. He wrote,

“I am deeply sorry for the language that I used on Twitter,” he wrote in the post. “These tweets, while wrong, were written by me 14 years ago while I was only 15 years old and have no reflection of who I am today. I do not take lightly any harm it causes now. I regret this being my first impression to many of you online, but I can take solace in knowing that the people who truly know me understand that this is not the kind of person I am. Again, I’d like to apologize to anyone who was hurt by my words and will continue to always treat people with kindness and respect.”

It was 2018 when I first wrote about the spreading scourge of assholes (sorry, the truth hurts, and sometimes is vulgar) who search through old social media posts to embarrass public figures with things they wrote when they were still children, and the even worse assholes in the news media and organizations that punish the now-grown adults to bend them to their will. I named the unethical tactic “The Hader Gotcha,” after Major League Baseball jumped all over Josh Hader, a star rookie relief pitcher, over his juvenile high school tweets. My position is unchanged; here are some excerpts from the post:

• “Isn’t this great? You can be a sad and lonely schlub with  a trivial, insignificant, powerless, witless existence, and yet bring a successful, rich, popular baseball player to his metaphorical knees!  Just  find and publicize some ill-considered,  impulsive  tweets sent when fame and fortune weren’t even twinkles in the future star’s eye, and the nascent athlete was trying to make do with the under-developed brain of a typical male under the age of 25. Why, it’s even better than dropping rocks on cars as they go under an overpass, or releasing computer viruses! What a rush!“
• “No, I have no empathy at all for anyone so desperate to be victimized that they regard themselves as “hurt” by years-old social media comments intended for a small audience by a then-non public figure, and then demand, through their mouthpieces… that the author grovel for forgiveness today.”
• “People say and write all sorts of stupid and ugly things on a whim or a brain cramp, in private places, in bars and at parties, in texts and tweets, that are not intended for the public at large. These excesses of language and bad taste should not be a matter of public concern, or media comment. These are not candidates for public office, who require the public’s trust. The Hader Gotcha, like so many other trends emanating from the world of toxic politics, threatens our liberty, our sanity, and our peace of mind. The miscreants here—the malicious tweet-miners, the Thought Policing journalists, and the cowardly executives—are not merely unethical, they are disgusting.”
• “The only way to end this corrosive practice is for the public to support its victims without reservation, and deride the journalists and executives who are encouraging it. Right now, the public is complicit in the unethical tactic of gratuitous personal destruction, because it is allowing it to work.“

Well said, Jack! I couldn’t have said it better myself!

I was pretty hacked off when I wrote that post.

I’m more hacked off now.